Yes they do. I would actually say that in general, video game sequels are superior.
I cannot say that about movies. I can only think of a handful of movies that are considered ‘better’ or could be considered *better* than the original: Terminator 2, Godfather Part II (although this is debatable that its better than the original but at least it’s a debate), Aliens (again, debatable but at least on par with Alien), Indiana Jones and Last Crusade (again, debatable since Raiders is really good), and.. Empire Strikes Back. That’s really about it.
As for video games, yes the sequels are usually better. I don’t think anyone would say Mario 1 is the best Mario. Sonic 1 is not the best Sonic. Halo 1 is not the best Halo. Call of Duty 1 is not the best CoD. Elder Scrolls 1 is not the best Elder Scrolls. GTA 1 is not the best GTA. Witcher 1 is not the best Witcher. Zelda 1 is not the best Zelda. Final Fantasy 1 is not the best FF. And we can go on and on but with video games it’s generally true that the sequels are better.
The reason for this is likely because *good* movies are considered original with a good script and good storytelling and good character development and all of this generally would have to happen within the first movie in the series to be considered a good movie. A sequel with all these attributes can’t really happen because the characters have been already established and it’s not as original anymore by virtue of being a sequel. The sequel would have to somehow be original and also showing new character development while simultaneously building off of the established story and characters. This has proven to be difficult to do with movie sequels. Pixar I think might be one of the only studios that might have a grasp on making sequels like this – I actually thought the Toy Story sequels were better than the original.
Video game sequels on the other hand, are judged more on the graphics and gameplay than on the story and characters. And graphics naturally get better and more advanced over time, and gameplay is generally improved and expanded with user feedback from the previous games. This makes a good video game sequel a lot easier to come by than a good movie sequel. Mainly because the criteria for judging video games (graphics and gameplay) tend get better over time.
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